About Bulletguy

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Reason I said "possibly my last car" was maybe a bit of a fatalistic view but also trying to look at my situation realistically.
I'm over 62 now and assuming I hang back a bit and wait until next year, I will be approaching 63. As long as I can drive I will drive and would like to think I will still be around and physically capable at 70. So that would be seven years which isn't a long time. Believe me.....as you get older the years simply whizz by.....you wonder where they went!!
In the past i've driven long distances between Switzerland to UK, which I often did in one day, and also Germany. Often used to drive over to Belgium and back in a day. But I can't do that now. Driving down to my sons in London (170 miles) is about my 'max' for an easy drive. The last three months i've spent touring Europe in my Motorhome and the most I drove in a day was 250 miles but would try to set lesser distances. I don't want to be driving long hours any more....I don't need to.
However I would like to be able to visit my Grandson more often than I do and the first 'new' Fiesta I saw, I liked everything about it. I've never really been a fan of big cars having spent my car 'tinkering' years building and modifying Mini Coopers. So I like small cars.
The low tax and high mpg figure of the Diesel Fiesta appeals for obvious reasons. During my last tour I travelled through nine European countries and by far the most expensive fuel is right here in the UK (Austria I filled up at £1.25 a litre, Poland £1.07, Bulgaria £1.05 and so on). So 60 (or more) mpg is very appealing!
I figure if I buy 'the right model', 1) it should last me at least seven or eight years and 2) if I have to sell, i'd still get a relatively decent price. I wouldn't be buying new.....i've always bought in the used market cash outright.
Hope this has given a clearer view?

My annual mileage is relatively low now as i'm retired plus I also run a Motorhome.
My son and grandson live in London which for me is a 350 mile round trip and as long as I remain physically capable to drive distances (just spent three months touring East Europe in my Motorhome), i'd like to be able to visit more often. My Focus returns around 38mpg driven carefully but, like me, is getting pretty old now!
I like the new shape Focus but if I go for one it will no doubt be the last car I buy. Whilst diesel fuel is a couple of pence dearer than petrol, I think it's a better choice engine should I ever find the need to sell. It's just knowing what you get with which model etc. As for this 'ecoboost'........never heard of it so what is that!!?

Good point.......but what for example does the Titanium have that the others don't?
One of these caught my eye on AutoTrader recently which was in a nice metallic red colour. But a very !Removed! interior with salmon pink dashboard just wasn't for me!

I'm considering replacing my 02 reg 1.8 petrol Focus with a Fiesta (current shape). But which one is best to go for?
Not particularly bothered whether it's 3 door or 5 door as there is only myself to worry about.
I will go for the diesel but which is the best engine and model type? For example, what is the difference between the TDCi Zetec and the TDCi Econetic?

Must admit i've lost count of the times i've put a bit too much oil in, though never by that amount plus it was on old cars with pretty basic engineering. Thats one big advantage of any basic engine....it will stand up to all kinds of abuse. 'Modern' engines don't. They nearly all use expensive synthetic oils now and needless to say replacement parts don't come cheap either, even on something as plain and ordinary as a Focus!
Anyway as you found out for yourself, an oil change is relatively simple to do yourself though in my case the guy who does my MOT and repairs actually charges me far less for an oil change (using Ford oil) than what I can buy the cheapest brand at.

Depends on how much money you want to spend.
If you want to save and have time then i'd go to a breakers yard and dismantle the ignition to look at how its made up. The important part to look at is the actual switching mechanism.....forget the barrel. If that switching mechanism is plastic nylon then thats the part you will need replacing because it is that piece which wears. It may not be like Transit ignition switches....I don't know even though I have a Focus. But the symptoms you describe lead me to think that it may well be.
Alternatively just go along to any Garage with a Ford trained mechanic and he will tell you for free.

Seems likely as it's been nowhere near that the past few days.
No idea where the sensor is but my advice would be to stick some tape over the dash readout and forget about it! Car temp readings are pretty much inaccurate anyway.

Don't know how Focus ignition switches are made up but if they are similar to Transits that "something further back" could well be what is sometimes referred to as the "black cap" which is the actual switch mechanism itself. Simply replacing the barrel itself won't resolve the issue.
Whilst the barrel is made of metal, the switching mechanism is made of..........plastic/nylon of all things!
The barrel does very little work, so Ford make that of metal, whilst the part which does ALL the work they make it in damn plastic! Needless to say it eventually wears away and one day you will simply be left stranded.....unless you are familiar with 'hot wiring' the ignition?

At long last i've managed to get to the bottom of an annoying niggle with my rear wiper.
Since having the car five months ago the rear wiper has never worked right and failed to complete a full sweep. Took the motor off and a local auto electrician bench tested it....and the damn thing ran perfectly!
So then I tried another stalk, but it wasn't that!
Decided on a long shot that the motor must have some kind of fault somewhere so got another off eBay. Just fitted it today and hey presto.....a wiper that now fully works properly! :)
First wiper motor i've ever had to replace in my entire life of owning cars.

Understood. And that was my problem.....only one key (when car purchased) because some previous plonker owner 'mislaid' or 'lost' the other. So now if the fancy takes me I can go out and get a couple of more keys and do it myself I suppose, but one spare is enough for me and i'm not in the habit of losing keys! Not to mention it's been an expensive exercise!Yeah i know you might feel you've been bangin' at a brick wall the last few posts but hey...this grey matter of mine is 60 years old now! ;)

Arty.....apparently programming the fob/s is only a part of it and can easily be done. I'd already achieved that with mine and the fob would operate the c/l system....but that won't start the engine.This guy explained to me that the key transponder then has to be programmed into the cars electronics so that it will 'recognise' both keys, and that can only be done through the diagnostics plug. It cannot be done just from the fob. Later model Fords are even more difficult with Ford flatly refusing to sell the software other than to their own dealerships....neatly cornering the market and thereby forcing the owner to go back to the main dealer.
The computer appeared to be similar to what Ford Garages use to run diagnostic checks on various parts of the engine.

My second fob came via ebay but i'd already been told I had to make sure it had the identical part number, and in my case the sellers description was correct.In your case i'd say the fact you managed to get the "wrong" fob reprogrammed, for £45 is a real plus! Nobody in my area doing them at that price.
I've just had mine done and it's working 100%. Whole job took no longer than 20 minutes. A nice little earner considering the guy had three cars in just from today where the owners had lost the keys!

Further to my previous thread concerning the reprogramming of a second fob and key, just thought i'd update after making a few phone calls today.
One auto locksmith in my locality told me outright that "no it cannot be done even if the fob part numbers are identical," so I wrote him out straight away!
I then contacted Bristol Street Motors, the local main Ford Dealer, who confirmed it can be done, takes about an hour and costs £75 plus vat. :o
After searching Google I located another local auto locksmith and he charges £75 all in. Plenty of locksmiths in my area but very few auto locksmiths, so 'shopping around' for a better price would seem to be impossible.
All told this 'exercise' will have cost me just over £100 in order to get a spare key up and running.....the morale of which being never ever lose that spare key which all cars should come with, second hand or not. If you buy a used car with only one key then dependant upon make/model you should either get the seller to pay for one or knock the cost off the price. My son has an Audi and the keyfob for his particular model costs £400!

Unfortunately I think you may well be right on this in my particular case. If so, even my local garage guy who is a Ford trained mechanic hasn't fully grasped the situation either! All I was told was that both fob id numbers must be identical (which they are).A friend suggested trying again with the fully working key (Key 1) well away from the fob (Key 2) I am trying to programme. It was a good 15 or 20 metres away and I managed to programme the central locking....but it would not start the engine up!
So I am no further in this and so far it's cost me £20 for fob, battery, key blank and cutting.